The designers talked about how globalisation will force greater creativity and individuality, and why designing for genders remains a fact of life. But each of them said they are hopeful that gender will no longer be a ruling metric for design parameters. At Facebook, Teehan ensures that his team is made up of a diverse group of people to prevent one gender from dominating the design themes.

Meanwhile, Crawford believes that design should speak to individuality, not gender. ‘We should design for people,’ she said. ‘It is important to reflect their different needs in a specific context, but I hope the distinctions are more sublte than that binary male or female.’

The Big Picture

Designers are facing new challenges as the world becomes a more global place and new conversations around gender take hold. For more on designers leading new aesthetics, see our Flux Culture and Gen Neutral design directions.